Small Comfort
by Jenna Montgomery
Summary: It was small comfort in the grand scheme of things, but in that moment, there were no other words she'd rather hear. RyanCalleigh. Spoilers for Man Down.


Disclaimer: The characters involved are not mine; they are owned by CBS and other respective owners.

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He knew she wouldn't be too happy knowing he'd followed her, but Ryan didn't care about that. All he cared about at the moment was Calleigh. He'd watched her practically race from Eric's room, her eyes to the ground, and it had tugged at his heart. He hated seeing her so torn up. So he'd followed her to the far corner of the hospital, to an empty, dimmed hallway, finding her leaning tiredly against the wall. It was so like Calleigh; run away instead of dealing. 

But this was too big to run away from. Ryan didn't want to see her push this away and bottle it up, only for it to come out later, along with everything else she'd bottled up. It wasn't good for her, and he was relieved that he'd been able to find her. He just wished she'd talk to him now.

Quietly he moved toward her, rapping his knuckles gently on the wall so as not to startle her. She looked up at him, pursing her lips together in an attempt to hold it together, but her eyes gave her away. Her eyes shined with unshed tears, and she blinked furiously, trying to push them away. "Ryan, hey," she greeted softly, giving him a sad smile.

He touched her elbow gently, attempting a smile in return. "Hey," he whispered. "I was looking for you."

She shrugged. "You found me," she replied flatly, looking away.

He nodded. "I did." Tilting his head, he took in her tired, defeated stance. "You gonna be okay?" he asked, taking another step toward her. He stopped though, as immediately he saw her body tense.

Calleigh nodded, a little too vigorously. "Yeah," she said quietly. Her eyes were trained defiantly on the floor, and Ryan wished she would look at him. He wished she would talk to him, but he wouldn't push her if she didn't want to. "They say if he wakes up, he should be fine."

Ryan nodded. "Well, that's good."

Calleigh sighed, resting the back of her head against the wall. "They said if, Ryan. He might not wake up. He might not come back, and I…" she trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut. She bit her lip, but not even that was enough to keep it from trembling.

Ryan moved closer to her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "He will, Calleigh. You know Eric," he began, with a hint of a smile. "He's not the type to give up. He'll wake up, and in no time he'll be back at work with us. In no time, he'll be strutting around the lab and threatening to kick my ass again."

A tiny chuckle escaped Calleigh's lips, bringing a small smile to Ryan's own lips. He hated seeing Calleigh so broken, without a smile on her face or that sparkle in her eyes. Without those, she just didn't seem like Calleigh.

She crossed her arms, finally looking up and into Ryan's eyes, her face serious again. "But what if he's not?" she whispered. "What if he doesn't wake up?"

"We can't think like that, Cal," he said gently, his heart shattering as he watched a tear slip from her eye. He'd never seen her cry before, and he'd almost begun to believe she never did. He reached out to her, cupping her face as the pad of his thumb traced across her cheek, catching the lone tear.

Calleigh pulled back, embarrassed. She dropped her gaze again, anxiously tucking her hair behind her ears. "I know," she murmured, fidgeting with her hands. She sniffled lightly. "It's just, this is hard. This is really, really hard." Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked up again to meet Ryan's caring gaze. "It just reminds me so much of losing Tim. And I - I just can't lose another friend like that."

"Calleigh, listen to me," Ryan said, gently placing his thumb beneath her chin, tilting her face upward. "Eric is going to be fine. You have to believe that, for him."

"I wish it was that easy…" Calleigh murmured, her shoulders slumping defeatedly.

"I know, babe; I know."

Calleigh squeezed her eyes shut again, unable to stop the tears that slipped past her eyelids. "I'm sorry," she whispered shakily, trying to dry her eyes. "I just can't…keep from crying…"

He couldn't resist it any longer. Watching Calleigh, seeing her broken, yet trying so hard to hold it together, it broke his heart. Reaching out to her, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, embracing her tightly. "Maybe you need to cry," he whispered into her hair. "You don't have to be the strong one all the time, Calleigh. Maybe this time you just need somebody to be strong for you."

She resisted at first, but as she felt his arms close around her, such an immense feeling of safety fell around her, and she couldn't help but trust him. Calleigh relaxed into his arms, looping her own around his neck like a lifeline. She buried her face in his chest, breathing him in as she felt his hands over her back, moving in soft, soothing circles. Once more, she felt the tears well up in her eyes, but this time, she didn't try to force them back.

Ryan felt her let go, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her hair. "It's okay, Calleigh," he whispered, swaying her gently in his arms. "It's okay…"

And as the tears fell from her eyes, as Ryan continued to whisper words of comfort, of reassurance against her hair, Calleigh couldn't help but believe every word that left his lips. It was small comfort in the grand scheme of things, but in that moment, there were no other words she'd rather hear.


End file.
